Film review (From Stroud News and Journal)

Film review

OCEAN'S ELEVEN (12) IT IS fun to see a film once in a while thats not remotely taxing. The original Ocean's Eleven (1960) was directed by Lewis Milestone (Mutiny on the Bounty 1962) and starred Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack chums Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford. Sadly, they are all now dead. It would have been interesting to know their opinion of this Ocean's Eleven remake. The 1960s version wasn't anything special and far too long, but around that time comedy capers were in fashion.

However that genre soon became overworked, and now tragically violence is one of the main ingredients needed to sell a film. Its great to turn the clock back and return to the bantering jolly heists of films from that era, where everyone is having fun reminiscent of Gary Grant's heyday (To Catch A Thief 1955) or Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole (How to Steal a Million 1966). A constant diet of blood and guts numbs the mind, which in the end can only be detrimental.

Smooth talker Danny Ocean (George Clooney), having amazingly convinced the parole board of his good intentions his notes state he has figured in a dozen investigations where he was never charged is released from North Jersey State Prison. Sporting the tuxedo he was arrested in, he leaves as a man with a plan and it isnt going straight. Hitching up with his card-sharp friend Rusty (Brad Pitt) Danny explains his scheme to steal $160 million from three Las Vegas casinos.

The idea is on the night of a big fight they will break into the vault of the Bellagio Hotel, which also covers the takings from the MGM Grand and The Mirage.

However Danny also has another agendum. The casinos ruthless owner Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) is his ex-wife Tesss (Julia Roberts) new man and Danny wants her back. Fully realising the enormity of the job facing them Danny and Rusty set about recruiting a group of talented lawbreakers. They come up with pickpocket Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon), brothers Virgil and Turk Malloy (Casey Affleck and Scott Caan) as drivers, con man Frank Catton (Bernie Mac), explosives specialist Basher Tarr (Don Cheadle), surveillance expert Livingston Dell (Eddie Jemison), swindler Saul Bloom (Carl Reiner), Chinese acrobat Yen (Shaobo Qin) and financial backer Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould). So Oceans Eleven is born with Danny as Chairman of the BORED.

Having had a double whammy with his inspiring and funny film Erin Brockovich (2000), closely followed by his intense drugs thriller Traffic(2000), director Steven Soderbergh has not gone for depth with his version of Ocean's Eleven.

However the screenplay by Ted Griffin (Ravenous 1999) is evenly balanced with just the right amount of suspense. Its slick and much more informative than the original. For one thing we know why eleven people are necessary for the job. Soderbergh brilliantly anticipated that the dazzling cast would carry this film and he was right. You feel they are all having such fun its infectious. After Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt's disastrous foray into romance in The Mexican (2001) the pairing of Roberts and Clooney works well and sparks fly.

However its the chemistry between Clooney and Pitt that is dynamite, and reminds me of Paul Newman and Robert Redford. I have never understood Frank Sinatra's sex appeal; he looked like a marmoset monkey to me. So though this film has none of the Rat Packs crooning, gorgeous Clooney more than makes up for that. If the end is a bit of a let down it does leave it open for a sequel, which I will be eagerly watching out for!

Clare Shepherd 8/10